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Jered Weaver cooled off the hottest team in baseball.
Weaver gave up just four hits in eight innings and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 on Tuesday night.
Garret Anderson and Vladimir Guerrero each hit two-run home runs as the Angels picked up their first win against Tampa Bay this season.
The Rays swept three home games against the Angels in May and pounded out 18 hits in a 13-4 win in the series opener in Anaheim on Monday. That victory gave Tampa Bay a 30-15 record since April 22, the best in the majors.
But the Angles quickly generated four runs against Tampa Bay starter James Shields in the first inning Tuesday and that was more than enough for Weaver to work with.
Weaver (6-6), who has won four of his last five starts after struggling early in the season, held the Rays to three hits over the first seven innings before giving up a solo homer to Gabe Gross in the eighth.
“Obviously it’s been a little roller coaster for me, a little different than in past years,” said Weaver. “That’s just guys trying to make adjustments on me and me trying to make adjustments on them.”
Shields (4-5) was making his first start since being ejected in a June 5 game at Boston when he hit Boston outfielder Coco Crisp with a pitch to open the second inning, leading to a bench clearing brawl.
Shields was assessed a six-game suspension for his role in the brawl. The native of nearby Newhall, California planned to begin serving the suspension after Tuesday’s start.
“His grandmother is going to be here, she’s never seen him pitch in front of such a big crowd, it’s a big moment for him,” said Rays manager Joe Maddon before the game.
Shields tossed a one-hit shutout against the Angels in St. Petersburg on May 9, but he quickly ran into trouble Tuesday as Los Angeles collected six hits and four runs in the first inning.
“I thought I threw some pretty good pitches in the first inning, they just didn’t go my way,” said Shields. “I made good pitches, they hit good pitches. It could easily have been the other way.”
After Maicer Izturis singled to extend a 10-game hitting streak, Anderson gave the Angels a quick 2-0 lead with his sixth home run of the season.
Guerrero singled and scored on a double by Howie Kendrick before Jeff Mathis reached on an infield single that allowed Casey Kotchman to add the fourth Angels run, matching the team’s season high for production in the first inning.
“Early in the game (Shields) was trying to get his feet on the ground and he missed some spots,” said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. “We took advantage of it.”
Izturis also singled in the fifth before Guerrero hit his ninth home run of the season.
Guerrero went 4-for-4 against the Rays on Monday and is now 6-for-7 in the series.
Tampa Bay rookie Evan Longoria had a pair of doubles against Weaver after going 3-for-4 with two home runs in the series opener Monday (Associated Press - Sports).
Dioner Navarro turned the page quickly after his dugout confrontation with teammate Matt Garza the day before. So did the rest of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Navarro had four hits and four RBIs, including one of three consecutive home runs Tampa Bay hit against Joe Saunders, and rookie Evan Longoria had a pair of solo homers and an RBI double in a 13-4 rout of the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.
“I think it says a lot about our team,” Navarro said. “It was a `younger brother, older brother’ fight. There’s no hard feelings or nothing. We’re fine. We handled it in the way we had to handle it, and we came back out here today and did our job.”
Manager Joe Maddon said Navarro will catch Garza’s next start despite their heated exchange on Sunday at Texas, which began on the mound and continued in the dugout after Garza gave up a two-run homer to German Duran. Navarro has been behind the plate for nine of Garza’s 12 starts this season.
“People sometimes really misconstrue something like that,” Maddon said. “The best way I can explain it to anyone would be to just think of your own family and what happens behind closed doors. The people you love the most you’re going to have the biggest arguments with, and then you make up.”
Edwin Jackson (4-5) allowed four runs and 10 hits in seven innings, striking out two and walking one. The right-hander is scheduled to begin serving a five-game suspension on June 13 for his part in a bench-clearing brawl with the Boston Red Sox on Thursday at Fenway Park.
Longoria, Willy Aybar and Navarro all went deep against Saunders (9-3), helping Maddon get his first win in Anaheim as a big league manager after eight losses at the “Big A.” Maddon spent 31 years in the Angels organization and six seasons as Mike Scioscia’s bench coach before taking the Tampa Bay job prior to the 2006 campaign.
Longoria, whose 10 homers are the most among AL rookies, drove a 1-0 pitch just beyond the second tier of the left-field bullpen to open the scoring. Aybar homered to left two pitches later, and Navarro worked the count full before giving the Rays three consecutive home runs for the first time in the franchise’s 11-year history with another drive into the bullpen.
“Obviously we’ve been playing a whole lot better this year and we have a lot more weapons, but I didn’t expect any of that,” Maddon said. “I mean, to hit home runs at night in this ballpark like that—they just don’t go to left field. So the back-to-back-to-back quite frankly was a surprise. But I’ll take it.”
It was the first time any team hit three in a row against the Angels since April 18, 2000, at Toronto, when Craig Grebeck, Raul Mondesi and Carlos Delgado went deep in the sixth inning against Jason Dickson.
The Rays outhit the Angels 18-12, with every Tampa Bay batter getting at least one hit.
Saunders was charged with eight runs and 10 hits over 4 2-3 innings. The left-hander has given up six home runs in his last three outings—one more than he allowed over his previous 10 starts this season combined.
“They’ve got speed, they have good contact guys and they have good power guys. They have a good mix. If you make a mistake they are going to make you pay for it,” Saunders said. “They got my pitch count up there. It’s just one of those games where you have to forget about it.”
Longoria, the third overall pick in the 2006 draft, homered again in the ninth off Darren Oliver. It was the second multihomer game for the Downey, Calif., native, who is hitting .255 with 32 RBIs in 54 games.
“Shoot, what a homecoming for me. I had all my family and friends in, and it was just a great feeling to be able to do what I did tonight,” Longoria said. “That’s a hot ballclub over there, and just to get that rally started in the second and get on top of them was big.”
Torii Hunter put the Angels ahead 4-3 in the fourth with his 200th career homer and eighth this season after a broken-bat leadoff single by Vladimir Guerrero, who was 4-for-4 along with Gary Matthews Jr.
But the Rays grabbed an 8-4 lead with five runs in the fifth. B.J. Upton hit an RBI double, Aybar singled in the go-ahead run after a walk to Longoria, and Navarro followed with a two-run double to right-center on Saunders’ 103rd and final pitch. Gabe Gross capped the five-run rally with an RBI single against Jose Arredondo.
Xtra, xtra: The Rays are 14-8 in the first game of a series, and have won nine of their last 11 series openers. Carl Crawford’s two steals increased Tampa Bay’s major league-leading total to 72. Aybar’s younger brother Erick has missed the Angels’ last 18 games with a dislocated right pinky (Associated Press - Sports).
Now the Tampa Bay Rays are fighting among themselves.
Rays starting pitcher Matt Garza and catcher Dioner Navarro had to be separated in the dugout—minutes after an angry confrontation on the mound—in a 6-3 loss at Texas in which Tampa Bay missed a chance for its first series sweep on the road this season.
“This wasn’t pretty today. It was a bad day all around,” left fielder Carl Crawford said.
“It was nothing, in-house kind of stuff, things that happen on occasion and we took care of it,” manager Joe Maddon insisted, without being specific. “It was shoving, that was it. It’s been taken care of.”
After Rangers No. 9 hitter German Duran hit a two-run homer for a 3-0 lead in the fourth, Garza and Navarro had a heated exchange on the mound, sticking their gloves into each other’s face. Pitching coach Jim Hickey pushed Navarro back toward the plate when he visited the mound.
When the inning ended, Garza approached Navarro in the dugout. Television cameras caught them face-to-face in a scuffle that spilled into the tunnel leading to the clubhouse. Maddon, Hickey and others rushed to break up the fracas.
“It was just something that happened in the game and it’s been taken care of,” Navarro said. “It happens in the family. … We’re fine. We’re brothers, a whole family. The oldest brother gets into fights sometimes. It’s been straightened out.”
Jason Hammel took over on the mound in the fifth, while Navarro remained in the game. Garza gave up three runs and six hits with two strikeouts.
“Just keep it in house and fix it. That’s about it,” Garza said, after meeting behind closed doors with Maddon for about 20 minutes. “We’re both competitors. Whatever happens stays here and we’ll definitely fix it.”
Hickey said he didn’t know if the disagreement was “over pitch selection or whatever. Obviously it was something that was bothering them.”
The scuffle between pitcher and catcher came only three days after Tampa Bay was involved in a bench-clearing brawl at Boston.
Not only did Tampa Bay get swept in the three-game series by the Red Sox to lose their 10-day hold on the AL East lead, the Rays had five players suspended for a total of 23 games that were staggered. Jonny Gomes served the second of his five-game suspension Sunday.
Tampa Bay (37-26) dropped 1 1/2 games behind Boston in the AL East after losing to Texas, which got home runs from David Murphy, Duran and Ramon Vazquez on a day that Josh Hamilton and Michael Young were out of the lineup.
“That shows how versatile and how capable our offense is with those two guys, the nucleus of our offense, out,” Murphy said. “We’ve got some other guys that can do some things too.”
Murphy batted in the No. 3 spot in place of Hamilton, who leads the AL in home runs and the majors in RBIs. Hamilton had a viral infection. The Rangers never trailed after Murphy pulled a solo homer down the right-field line in the first off Garza (4-3).
“I was just trying to do my best Josh Hamilton impression,” Murphy said, smiling.
Rookie right-hander Doug Mathis (2-1) allowed five hits over 5 1-3 innings, leaving after B.J. Upton’s two-run homer got the Rays to 4-2.
Duran, recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma on Sunday, started at third base while regular third baseman Vazquez played shortstop for Young, who was out of the lineup for the second time in three games. Vazquez homered in the eighth.
Young has a 22-game hitting streak, the longest in the majors this season. He returned to the lineup Saturday night after missing a game because of a hairline fracture in his left ring finger but left because of tightness in his groin.
Manager Ron Washington said Young only had soreness and should be back in the lineup in the next game, Tuesday night at Kansas City. Hamilton is expected to play then as well.
Milton Bradley, who raised his AL-leading on-base percentage to .456 with three walks and a single, scored after reaching to lead off the fifth and seventh innings. Bradley had a single in the fifth and scored on Gerald Laird’s single, then had a leadoff walk and a stolen base in the seventh before coming home on a single by Marlon Byrd to make it 5-2.
Frank Francisco relieved Mathis after Upton’s homer and got Eric Hinske on a called third strike. Hinske got ejected by home plate umpire James Hoye after arguing, then slammed his helmet to the ground and had a few more heated words before leaving.
“I let him know that I thought it was a ball, that it was a bad call,” Hinske said. “It was kind of an ugly game. We want to just put this game behind us.”
Xtra, xtra: Tampa Bay had consecutive errors to start the third. SS Jason Bartlett let a grounder roll under his glove before a dropped flyball when CF Upton and RF Gabe Gross were both calling for it. Upton, who was charge with the error, and Gross bumped and the ball ricocheted off both their gloves to the ground. RHP James Sheields is scheduled to start his six-game suspension for the Boston brawl Wednesday. Crawford, RHP Edwin Jackson and 2B Akinori Iawmura are expected to appeal before their suspensions begin later this month (Associated Press - Sports).
Tampa Bay’s pitching staff cooled off a hot-hitting lineup for the second night in a row. That’s just the sort of thing good teams do.
J.P. Howell pitched two innings of hitless relief, Dan Wheeler gave up a run in the ninth but got the last four outs for a hard-earned save, and the Rays held on for a 5-4 victory over the Rangers on Saturday night.
Texas had scored eight runs or more in six straight games before running into the Rays, who have held them to four a night while winning the first two of the three-game series. Tampa Bay bounced back to take the series after being swept by Boston. Incidentally, the Red Sox are only a half game up on the Rays in the AL East.
“(The Rangers) are very hot offensively,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “I have a lot of respect for them. Our pitchers have done a tremendous job against them. Wheeler had a very difficult job against the middle of their lineup. You could see he was under control. I felt good about having him out there.”
Willy Aybar hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning to make it 4-2.
Reliever Joaquin Benoit allowed two runs and two hits, and walked two in one inning for the Rangers, who’ve lost five of their last seven.
Milton Bradley’s solo homer in the eighth off Trever Miller—his sixth in the last seven games—made it 4-3.
In the top of the ninth, Jason Bartlett raced home on Jamey Wright’s wild pitch with an insurance run.
Howell (5-0) pitched two near-perfect innings, marred only by a walk and Wheeler got his second save in two chances.
Against Wheeler in the ninth, Ramon Vazquez singled and took third on Ian Kinsler’s second double of the night. After Wheeler walked Chris Shelton to load the bases major league RBI leader Josh Hamilton grounded into a fielder’s choice to drive in his 69th run.
“I wanted to hit it hard somewhere,” Hamilton said. “We just didn’t get it done tonight.”
Milton Bradley was retired on a ground ball to end the game as Wheeler breathed a sigh of relief.
“I watched these guys battle to get in a position to win,” Wheeler said. “The last thing you want to do as a reliever is deprive them of that.”
Normally a setup man, Wheeler is subbing for injured closer Troy Percival, and Wheeler’s new role requires an adjustment.
“I try to treat the ninth inning as the eighth inning or seventh, but there’s just something different about the ninth,” Wheeler said. “With Percy here, the game is one inning less. We’ve got to make up the slack for him.”
Meanwhile, the Rangers search for more consistency from a pitching staff that is last in the majors with a 5.10 ERA.
“Offense comes and goes depending on the pitching you’re facing,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “We just want to get (the pitching) straightened out. Those guys are capable of doing the job.”
With a first-inning single, Texas’ Michael Young extended his hitting streak to 22 games, longest in the majors this season and three short of his career high. Young raced home on Bradley’s RBI double.
Rangers starter Scott Feldman lasted seven innings and exited with the score even at 2 after allowing five hits, striking out five and walking two.
Tampa Bay starter Andy Sonnanstine left after five innings in a 2-2 game. He gave up six hits, struck out three and walked one.
Xtra, xtra: Rays OF Jonny Gomes dropped his appeal and began serving his five-game suspension on Saturday night. RHP James Shields will drop his appeal after Tuesday night’s start and will begin his six-game suspension on Wednesday. Gomes and Shields were two of five Rays suspended for a total of 23 games for their parts Thursday night’s bench-clearing melee with the Red Sox. The other three Tampa Bay players—Crawford, RHP Edwin Jackson and 2B Akinori Iawmura—are expected to appeal before their suspensions begin later in the month (Associated Press - Sports).
This time, Scott Kazmir got plenty of runs to work with.
Kazmir went eight innings to win a team-record sixth straight start, Evan Longoria hit one of Tampa Bay’s four homers, and the Rays beat the Texas Rangers 12-4 Friday night.
Kazmir (6-1) allowed two runs and six hits, struck out six and walked none. His winning streak is also a career-best mark.
B.J. Upton, Dioner Navarro and Eric Hinske also connected to help the Rays avoid matching their longest skid of the season.
The Rays had scored three runs or less in three of the games during Kazmir’s winning streak. Tampa Bay had managed two runs or less in five of its previous seven games overall.
But against shaky Texas pitching that has yielded seven runs or more in five of the last six games, Kazmir’s teammates provided Tampa Bay’s third double-digit run total of the season.
“We scored a lot of runs, but it was all about Kaz,” manager Joe Maddon said. “The way he pitched against that team kept us in the game and allowed us to get all those runs late. He was able to throw strikes when he wanted to. I loved his composure. He was in command.”
Kazmir twisted his left ankle covering first base on an infield hit in the second inning. After the game, he had the ankle wrapped in ice, but said he was fine.
The Rangers had scored eight or more runs in their previous six games, but Kazmir kept them in check as Tampa Bay pulled within a half-game of the first-place Boston Red Sox in the AL East.
“For the most part everything was working,” said Kazmir, who has allowed four earned runs in his last six games, a stretch of 41 innings. “I got ahead of hitters. That was my key. I owe it all to my defense. I can make pitches in the zone that are pretty good to hit when I’m ahead in the count because they’ll make the plays. It’s not like I have to strike everybody out.”
Kazmir threw 111 pitches, but he was still strong at the end of his outing, firing fastballs in the mid-90s in the eighth.
“He pounded the strike zone, he kept his pitches down and he made pitches when he had to,” Texas’ Marlon Byrd said. “He kept his fastball into the eighth inning. Tonight he was throwing 90 percent fastballs.”
All was calm with the Rays following Thursday night’s bench-clearing brawl with the Red Sox.
Tampa Bay pitchers James Shields (six games) and Edwin Jackson (five), outfielders Jonny Gomes (five) and Carl Crawford (four), and second baseman Akinori Iwamura (three) were suspended for their role in the incident.
All five were available for the opener of the three-game series due to appeals and because the suspensions were scheduled to start at staggered times.
“We want to get (the brawl in Boston) out of our heads,” Kazmir said. “We’ve got something special going here.”
Vicente Padilla (7-3) allowed three runs and five hits in six innings for the Rangers. He had won a career-best seven straight decisions.
Padilla retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced before Longoria belted his eighth homer leading off the fifth to tie it at 1.
Upton hit a solo drive and Cliff Floyd scored on Padilla’s wild pitch in the sixth to make it 3-1.
The Rays scored three in the eighth and six in the ninth. Navarro hit a two-run homer off Robinson Tejeda in the eighth and Hinske had a two-run drive in the ninth.
Ian Kinsler hit a solo drive in the eighth for Texas.
Padilla missed a start while he was on bereavement leave earlier this week. He was in his native Nicaragua attending to a personal family matter before returning late Thursday night.
“Padilla was going well, then he gave up the two homers and the wild pitch,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “We just couldn’t stop them. This wasn’t our night.”
Rangers shortstop Michael Young was scratched from the lineup due to a broken left ring finger. Young had started 60 of Texas’ first 62 games and currently carries a 21-game hitting streak, longest in the majors this season and four short of his career high.
Washington said Young would be back in the lineup on Saturday night.
Xtra, xtra: Until Kinsler’s drive, Kazmir hadn’t given up a home run since Sept. 4, a stretch of 68 innings (Associated Press - Sports).
The Boston Red Sox had plenty of fight against Tampa Bay—both in and out of their dugout.
Manny Ramirez homered, drove in five runs and got into a shouting match with a teammate as Boston beat Tampa Bay 7-1 Thursday night in a game that included a bench-clearing brawl between the clubs.
TV cameras showed Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis being separated after exchanging words in the dugout at the end of the fourth inning. Ramirez pointed at Youkilis before being escorted down the runway toward the clubhouse by trainer Paul Lessard and a few players.
Boston manager Terry Francona felt emotions were still running hot after the earlier brawl.
“I think they were just exchanging some views on things,” he said, trying to downplay his players’ near altercation. “It was kind of a hectic night. Sometimes those things happen. It wasn’t really a big deal; it won’t be a big deal.”
The Red Sox posted their 13th straight home win, matching the majors’ longest streak in nearly two years, and completed their second three-game sweep of the Rays in a little more than a month.
The fight on the field started after Boston’s Coco Crisp was hit on the right hip by a second-inning pitch from James Shields. Crisp dropped his bat, charged the mound and ducked a wild right by Shields before throwing a few punches himself.
Crisp was tackled to the ground by Tampa Bay catcher Dioner Navarro. Rays designated hitter Jonny Gomes charged the mound from the dugout, jumped on Navarro and Crisp, and threw several punches that hit Crisp while he was on the ground.
Crisp, who had a scratch on his forehead and right cheek, was most upset with what happened under the pile.
“I charged the mound. (Shields) tried to hit me with a punch,” Crisp said. “I’m not upset at all. We fought. That’s all it is. There were some cheap shots there. (Carl) Crawford came sliding in. I don’t know why he was pulling hair, scratching. After that it was three, four guys on one.”
Crawford didn’t deny that he may have pulled Crisp’s hair.
“There was a lot of stuff,” he said. “It could have been. There was a lot of pushing and shoving at the bottom.”
Crisp, Shields and Gomes were ejected.
“It’s simple,” Gomes said, when asked what he was doing when he got to the mound. “I’m just going out there for my pitcher’s defense.”
As for the dugout incident, Dustin Pedroia and Crisp both said they didn’t know what happened.
“I really didn’t see it,” Pedroia said. “I was running out onto the field. We’re around each other a lot, but we love each other. We’re a team.”
“You have to ask them,” Crisp said. “I was eating next to Youkilis and said I don’t want to know. I saw Manny. He was speaking in Spanish.”
The tempers between the teams carried over from Wednesday’s game when Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon felt Crisp “intentionally” tried to hurt Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura with a hard slide when he was caught stealing.
“I protected my own players and that’s what we need to do around here,” Shields said. “We’ve been getting stomped around the last 10 years and it isn’t going to happen anymore. I had to let them know early and let them know right away.”
Crisp said he was upset with shortstop Jason Bartlett, not Iwamura, after Bartlett put his knee down in front of the bag on Crisp’s successful steal in the sixth Wednesday, saying he sprained his left thumb on a headfirst slide.
Jon Lester (4-3), making his first Fenway start since his no-hitter against Kansas City May 19, gave up one run and eight hits, struck out five, hit two batters and didn’t walk anyone in 6 1-3 innings. Mike Timlin worked 1 2-3 hitless innings and David Aardsma got the final three outs.
Ramirez’s three-run homer—the 503rd home run of his career—gave Boston a 3-0 lead in the first. Pedroia was hit on the left elbow by Shields (4-4) and J.D. Drew doubled before Ramirez’s drive cleared the seats above the Green Monster.
Ramirez’s right knee appeared to buckle when he took a pitch from Dan Wheeler in the seventh. Ramirez continued to flex his leg after drawing a walk before leaving for pinch runner Kevin Cash one batter later.
Gomes’ RBI single made it 3-1 in the second, but Pedroia had a sacrifice fly in the bottom half.
Drew’s bases-loaded walk and Ramirez’s two-run single through the shortstop hole made it 7-1 in the fourth.
Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury left the game with a strained right wrist after making a diving catch of Evan Longoria’s fourth-inning liner. X-rays were negative and Ellsbury is day to day. Ellsbury will be examined in the morning by the team’s medical staff.
Boston swept Tampa Bay in Fenway Park from May 2-4, the only other time the Rays have been swept this season.
Xtra, xtra: With the Celtics opening up the NBA finals against the Lakers about 3 miles away Thursday night, the starting time was pushed up one hour. Former Celtic John Havlicek threw out the first pitch after a montage of basketball highlights were shown on the center field scoreboard (Associated Press - Sports).
B.J. Upton was ejected for arguing a third strike. Dustin Pedroia was mad that a ball that appeared to be a homer was ruled foul. And Coco Crisp slid in hard to send a message.
That kind of emotion surfaces when teams are playing for first place—even if one is the perennial last-place Tampa Bay Rays.
“We’re neck and neck and they have a good ballclub,” Crisp said after the Boston Red Sox won 5-1 on Wednesday night and took one-half game lead over the Rays in the AL East. “So when you’re playing a team like that, you have to be at your best.”
Josh Beckett allowed one run in six innings, Crisp singled twice and stole a base and the Red Sox won their 12th straight home game.
Crisp was involved in a flareup in the eighth when he slid in on second baseman Akinori Iwamura and was out stealing. After Julio Lugo struck out, Rays manager Joe Maddon went to the mound to remove pitcher Jason Hammel, turned toward the Red Sox dugout and said something to Crisp.
“Everybody else on the mound started looking over there so I got louder,” Crisp said. “I don’t know if he could hear what I was saying but basically I just said, `I did that on my own so don’t punish anybody else on the team.”’
Crisp was upset with shortstop Jason Bartlett, not Iwamura, after Bartlett put his knee down in front of the bag on Crisp’s successful steal in the sixth. Crisp came out of that with a sprained left thumb that was bandaged after the game but may not sideline him.
“I told him … I’d get back on base and then I’m going to show him how I felt about it,” Crisp said. “It wasn’t as dramatic as it probably would have been if he would have covered the bag.”
Maddon said Crisp intended to injure Iwamura.
“There’s no place for that when you intentionally try to hurt somebody,” Maddon said.
Crisp said that wasn’t his intention and he and Iwamura—who said he wasn’t hurt—declared the matter closed.
Approached by reporters, Bartlett said, “if it’s about that, I don’t want to talk about it.”
The scariest moment for Beckett (6-4) came when his left foot slipped on the wet mound as it landed on a pitch to Cliff Floyd in the sixth. Red Sox manager Terry Francona and assistant trainer Mike Reinold went to the mound and Beckett stayed in the game and struck out Floyd.
Francona said he took Beckett out as a precaution after 92 pitches on a drizzly night.
“He said he was fine, but I didn’t see much sense in sending him back out,” Francona said.
He allowed seven hits and struck out five without a walk, the eighth time in 11 starts he walked one or no batters.
Despite ending 10 days in first place, the Rays are a franchise-high 11 games over .500 (35-24). Last season, they finished last for the ninth time in their 10 seasons, 30 games behind the division-winning Red Sox.
Edwin Jackson (3-5) said teams may play the Rays harder because of their success.
“Regardless of what people say, teams know the teams that are good and play hard,” he said.
J.D. Drew, batting third in place of the injured David Ortiz, continued his surge with an RBI double and a single. In Tuesday night’s 7-4 win over Tampa Bay, Drew had a two-run homer, a double and two outstanding catches in right field.
The Red Sox are 3-1 since Ortiz injured his left wrist on a swing Saturday night. He went on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday.
The full house of 37,474—Fenway Park has been sold out for 416 straight games—watched the Red Sox improve their major league-best home record to 23-5. They are 14-20 on the road.
Tampa Bay had won eight of its previous 10 games before losing the last two and dropping to 0-5 in Boston this season.
Boston took a 3-0 lead in the third after Crisp led off with a single. The runs scored on a single by Jacoby Ellsbury, the double by Drew and a single by Manny Ramirez, who extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Eric Hinske’s broken-bat single drove in the Rays’ run in the fourth, but Crisp’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning made it 4-1. Boston added a run in the seventh on Kevin Youkilis’ bases-loaded single.
The Red Sox nearly scored in the first, but first-base umpire Jeff Kellogg ruled that Pedroia’s drive down the right-field line was foul. Replays showed the ball went into the stands on the fair side of the pole.
Xtra, xtra: Upton was ejected by home plate umpire Paul Emmel after taking a called third strike in the eighth. Upton said something to Emmel, who moved toward him and ejected him. Upton then threw his bat and helmet to the ground and argued while being held back by third base coach Tom Foley. Rays 1B Carlos Pena went on the 15-day DL with a broken left index finger that was injured when he was hit by a pitch from Boston’s Justin Masterson in the first inning Tuesday. OF Justin Ruggiano was called up from Triple-A Durham to fill Pena’s roster spot and replaced Upton in center in the eighth (Associated Press - Sports).
The Red Sox kept winning at home despite losing David Ortiz.
With every batter reaching base—and a slumping Coco Crisp driving in the go-ahead run—Boston won its 11th straight game at Fenway Park with a 7-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in a matchup of the AL’s top two teams Wednesday night.
“It’s just a matter of continuing to do what we do well,” J.D. Drew said, “getting big hits in key situations.”
Drew and Mike Lowell hit two-run homers in Boston’s first game after a 4-6 road trip. Drew also got a key walk in the four-run sixth that was followed by Jason Varitek’s tying RBI single and Crisp’s two-run double that made it 6-4. Jacoby Ellsbury’s sacrifice fly produced the final run.
Before the game, Ortiz sat at his locker with a hard cast covering most of his left arm to protect a partially torn sheath around the tendon in his left wrist. He’s expected to wear the cast for two to three weeks then work to strengthen the wrist for a return to the lineup at an unknown time.
“Even in the very beginning parts of the season, it wasn’t just Manny (Ramirez) and David,” said Jonathan Papelbon, who struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 19 opportunities. “Now that David’s out, it’s even more noticeable that we do have a team where everybody contributes.”
In fact, the Red Sox did quite well even when Ortiz was going through one of the worst slumps of his career.
They were 4-2 in their first six home games even though he was 0-for-17. And they had a one-game division lead at the end of April despite his .184 batting average.
Ortiz is hitting .252 now and leads the team with 13 homers and 43 RBIs.
“They’ve definitely got a great lineup,” said Rays starter Matt Garza (4-2). “They’ve got a lot of pop in there and some guys that can sneak stuff through. That middle of the lineup still has a lot of pop even without Ortiz.”
Crisp snapped a 1-for-25 slump with his double in a game he wasn’t supposed to start.
Sean Casey was in the original lineup as the designated hitter with Crisp on the bench. But when left fielder Ramirez was shifted to DH because of sore legs, Crisp started in center and Ellsbury went from center to left.
“Crisp is the guy that’s been struggling, but he looked good tonight,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s a good homecourt advantage and then you combine that with the quality of hitters, you’ve got to pitch well and we didn’t.”
The Red Sox are 22-5 at home where their winning streak matched the Rays for the longest in the AL this season. Boston cut Tampa Bay’s lead in the division to a half game, although the Rays are 12 games over .500, eight more than their previous best during their 11-year history.
Rookie Justin Masterson (2-0) allowed four runs in six innings in his third major league start for Boston. Craig Hansen got out of a first-and-second jam with no outs in the eighth by retiring the next three batters.
“My performance was OK,” Masterson said. “The team’s performance was great.”
Garza started the sixth with a 4-3 lead but hit the first batter, Kevin Youkilis, with a pitch. He went to second on an error by shortstop Jason Bartlett on Ramirez’s grounder, only the 24th error by the Rays, the fewest in the majors.
“I don’t think it necessarily rattled (Garza),” Maddon said. “It was just a bad start to that inning.”
Drew then walked to load the bases with one out.
“I was able to lay off some tough pitches and get the walk,” Drew said, “and the inning kind of took off from there.”
Varitek followed with a run-scoring single that tied the game at 4. Crisp then doubled low off the left-field wall, scoring Ramirez and Drew.
Akinori Iwamura led off the game with his third homer of the season, then Masterson held the Rays scoreless until consecutive doubles by B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena in the fourth tied the game 2-2.
The Red Sox had taken a 2-1 lead in the second on Lowell’s eighth homer, a two-run shot after Ramirez singled.
Drew’s sixth homer gave Boston a 3-2 lead in the fourth, but Tampa Bay went ahead in the sixth on Pena’s two-run homer, following a walk to Upton.
Xtra, xtra: Carl Crawford didn’t start after having an MRI on his right hamstring in Birmingham, Ala. He returned just before the game and hit into a fielder’s choice groundout as a pinch hitter in the eighth. Iwamura’s homer was the fourth of his career and second of the season leading off the first inning for the Rays (Associated Press - Sports).
A weekend of wasted scoring opportunities left Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen fuming and promising changes.
“There’s only one message I’m going to send. Just get ready because I expect movement on Tuesday,” Guillen said Sunday after the AL Central leaders lost their third straight game to the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3 in 10 innings.
The White Sox went 5-for-39 with runners in scoring position during the four-game series, including 2-of-14 Sunday, when they stranded the potential go-ahead run at third base after getting a leadoff double in the top of the 10th.
Gabe Gross won it for the Rays, leading off the bottom of the inning with a home run for Tampa Bay’s second walk-off victory in three days. Cliff Floyd’s ninth-inning homer beat Chicago on Friday night, and Floyd homered again in the Rays’ 2-0 victory Saturday.
“I expect (general manager) Kenny (Williams) to do something Tuesday. Because if we don’t do anything Tuesday, there’s (going to be) a lot of change in the lineup. That’s all I’m going to say about the offense,” said Guillen, whose comments were spiced with an occasional expletive.
But the manager wasn’t finished.
“It could be me. It could be (hitting coach) Greg Walker, the players, anybody,” Guillen said. “I’m sick and tired watching this for a year and a half. I’m not protecting anybody anymore.”
Gross, making a rare start against left-handed pitching, lined a two-run triple off Mark Buehrle to make it 3-all in the fifth. The left-handed hitter then delivered his first career homer off a lefty on an 0-2 offering from Matt Thornton (1-1).
“I’ve never really thought about hitting a walk-off. But if I had, it wouldn’t have lived up to this,” said Gross, who was 6-for-64 lifetime against left-handers before his triple.
The surprising Rays maintained their one-game division lead over Boston, and they take their league-best record of 35-22 to Fenway Park for the start of a three-game series Tuesday night. Tampa Bay is 13 games over .500 for the first time in the team’s 11-season history.
“We’re getting to the point now where we’re not satisfied with yesterday’s win,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s a whole team effort right now. … I think every night we go out there is a good barometer. There are no breaks (in the schedule).”
The series finale against the White Sox drew a crowd of 24,720. That was down from the sellout of 36,048 on Saturday night, when the big attraction was a postgame concert by country music star Trace Adkins, but well above the Rays’ AL-worst season average of 18,228.
J.P. Howell (4-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory, which enabled Tampa Bay to go 8-2 on the team’s longest homestand of the year. The Rays have won 10 of their last 12 series, including seven straight at home since losing two of three to the White Sox six weeks ago.
This time, Tampa Bay turned the tables to win three of four against Chicago, which got decent starting pitching but sputtered offensively in key situations.
The heart of the White Sox lineup—Carlos Quentin, Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome and Paul Konerko—had one homer and two RBIs in the series.
“It’s a little of everything,” Konerko said about the team’s lack of production with runners in scoring position. “Good pitching. Bad decision making.”
And, as for Guillen’s comments about possible changes?
“He’s the manager. He can do what he wants,” Konerko said. “That doesn’t change what happened today.”
The White Sox were 2-of-9 with runners in scoring position against Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine, who gave up a two-run double to Alexei Ramirez in the second and Orlando Cabrera’s RBI single in the fifth to fall behind 3-1.
But Chicago’s inability to make the most of its early opportunities helped the Rays remain in the game.
B.J. Upton tripled and scored Tampa Bay’s first run in the fourth. Jonny Gomes and Shawn Riggans doubled in the fifth before Gross lined his triple to make it 3-all against Buehrle, who allowed seven hits in six innings.
Sonnanstine, who pitched a three-hitter to beat Buehrle 5-0 at Tropicana Field on April 19, allowed three runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings.
Chicago squandered two scoring chances late, including the 10th inning, when it stranded pinch-runner Pablo Ozuna at third base after getting a leadoff double from Thome.
Xtra, xtra: Despite driving in Tampa Bay’s first run, Carlos Pena continues to struggle at the plate. He was 2-for-15 with eight strikeouts in the series (Associated Press - Sports).
For a guy who insists he’s still trying to regain his form, Scott Kazmir sure is pitching well.
The 2007 AL strikeout champion won his fifth straight start Saturday night, allowing three hits in seven innings to outpitch Javier Vazquez in AL East-leading Tampa Bay’s 2-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday night.
“Kazmir was the name of the game. We needed a great pitching performance against Vazquez and we got it,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “I thought he was closer to what we saw at the end of last season today. Really a great effort on his part.”
The 24-year-old left-hander set a Rays record for wins in a month, improving to 5-1 since spending all of April on the disabled list with a left elbow strain that also sidelined him for all but a few days of spring training.
Cliff Floyd homered for the second straight game and B.J. Upton drove in another run off Javier Vazquez (5-4) with an RBI grounder, helping the surprising Rays go 12 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history at a league-best 34-22.
“I feel like I can (pitch better). We’ll take it,” Kazmir said. “It felt like at times I was falling off the mound a little bit … but it was working. I’m getting more and more comfortable every game.”
The third of four games between division leaders drew a sellout crowd of 36,048, up from 12,636 and 14,679 the previous two nights. It was the third full-house of the season, and mostly could be attributed to a post-game concert featuring country music star Trace Adkins.
“I never saw as many people out here,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who played one season with the Rays in 2000. “It’s real nice to see the fans. They should have cowboy night every night.”
Kazmir limited the White Sox to Alexei Ramirez’s first-inning double and Jermaine Dye’s fourth-inning single until Toby Hall singled with two outs in the seventh. He walked three, struck out six, and didn’t allow a runner past second base.
The Rays’ career wins and strikeouts leader lowered his ERA to 1.22 and hasn’t given up more than one run in any of his five outings since Boston scored four in four innings to beat Kazmir in his first start of the season on May 4.
“Kazmir has been throwing really well. It’s nothing new,” Guillen said. “We continue to struggle at the plate.”
Al Reyes and J.P. Howell pitched the eighth for Tampa Bay. Dan Wheeler, Trever Miller and Grant Balfour each got an out in the ninth to finish the Rays’ seventh shutout.
Balfour, called up from Triple-A Durham this week when closer Troy Percival went on the 15-day list with a hamstring strain, earned his first career save by getting Brian Anderson to fly to center with the potential tying runs on base.
“I have no problem with any of these guys coming in,” said Maddon, who intends to fill the closer’s role with several pitchers while Percival is out. “I think any of them can get the last out.”
Vazquez pitched well, but not as good as Kazmir.
The Rays only managed five hits against the right-hander in seven innings. But Upton’s RBI grounder after Carl Crawford doubled to give Tampa Bay runners at second and third made it 1-0 in the third, and Floyd hit an 0-2 pitch for his fifth homer in the fourth.
Vazquez walked two and struck out a season-high 10, the 34th time in his career he’s fanned 10 or more.
“I knew coming in that I can’t give up much,” said Vazquez, who lost for the first time since he allowed one run in 7 2-3 innings of a 1-0 loss at Toronto on May 5.
The White Sox were 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position and stranded 15 in the first two games of the series, including 1-for-9 when they lost 2-1 Friday night on Floyd’s ninth-inning, walkoff homer.
The struggles continued against Kazmir, who gave up a first-inning double to Ramirez before striking out Carlos Quentin and getting Dye to fly to center. The left-hander picked Joe Crede off second base, bailing himself out of a potential jam in the second.
The White Sox, shut out for the sixth time this season, have not scored in the past 13 innings. They were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position Saturday night.
“The positive thing you can look at on the offensive side is we’re getting guys on,” Crede said. “It’s frustrating and tough. … We might be trying to do too much up there. I think it will come around.”
Xtra, xtra: The sellout was just the 11th in the Rays’ 11 seasons. Seven of them have come since the start of last season. Tampa Bay OF Rocco Baldelli (mitochondrial disorder) went 0-for-5 in an extended spring training game. He remains of the 60-day DL, but hopes to return to the major leagues before the end of the season. White Sox DH Jim Thome, 0-for-10 lifetime against Kazmir, was not in the starting lineup. He pinch-hit against Howell in the eighth, striking out with a runner on second (Associated Press - Sports).
Cliff Floyd rounded third and headed for home plate, where the rest of the Tampa Bay Rays had already begun the celebration.
“They know I’ve been through a tough time early on this year, they know I’m here for everybody, that I just want to contribute,” the 35-year-old designated hitter said Friday night after lining a leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the AL East leaders a 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
“Before I went up there, everyone’s telling me to end the game, so I had a little more pressure than I wanted to have. To just contribute to this team, the way we’ve been winning, it makes you sleep a ton better.”
Floyd’s fourth homer of the season—second since coming off the 15-day disabled list following knee surgery—came against Scott Linebrink (2-1). It also ended a stretch in which the White Sox bullpen had not allowed an earned run in 28 innings.
“Linebrink brings the fastball,” Floyd said, “If you go up there looking for anything else, you set yourself up for failure.”
Said Linebrink: “I made my pitch. He went down and got it.”
A crowd of 14,679 saw the Rays win a matchup of division leaders and raise their league-best record to 33-22.
Floyd homered on an 0-1 pitch and enabled Tampa Bay to overcome going only 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The AL Central-leading White Sox were even worse in clutch situations, finishing 1-for-9 with eight of the at-bats coming in the first four innings.
“This type of game happens when your offense don’t do what it’s supposed to do over the course of nine innings,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.
“The bullpen has been great. We win a lot of games by one run, late in the game. It was a great baseball game. Too bad it ended like that.”
Dan Wheeler (1-3), the fourth Rays pitcher of the night, worked one scoreless inning for the victory.
Starters Jose Contreras of the White Sox and James Shields of the Rays each pitched well.
Contreras limited the Rays to one run and five hits in seven innings. Matt Thornton worked the eighth and Linebrink entered in the ninth.
The Rays took a 1-0 lead on B.J. Upton’s RBI single in the third inning.
Alexei Ramirez homered in the fifth for the White Sox. Shields allowed one run and seven hits in six innings.
Both starters were coming off eight-inning outings in which neither was involved in the decision. Contreras gave up two runs and three hits in a game Chicago eventually won against the Los Angeles Angels, while Shields allowed four runs and eight hits before the Rays scored in the ninth to beat Baltimore last Sunday.
The White Sox squandered scoring opportunities in the second, third and fourth innings before breaking through against Shields on Ramirez’s second career homer.
The Rays bailed their starter out of two jams with double plays, and Chicago wasted a leadoff double by Jermaine Dye in the fourth.
“We need the offense to pick it up and help the pitching staff,” Guillen said. “We had a lot of chances, and we didn’t make it happen.”
The home run was the fifth Shields has allowed in his last three starts. He yielded two in his first nine outings.
Xtra, xtra: With INF Ben Zobrist optioned to Triple-A Durham, the Rays plan to use rookie 3B Evan Longoria as their backup shortstop. Longoria played the position for about 20 games in college at Long Beach State, however manager Joe Maddon stressed he is the team’s third baseman (Associated Press - Sports).
While the Tampa Bay Rays have been the hottest team in baseball, the Chicago White Sox are on a roll of their own.
The AL Central leaders won the first-ever game at Tropicana Field between teams in sole possession of first place in their divisions Thursday night, cooling off the AL East-leading Rays 5-1 before of a crowd of 12,636.
“I didn’t look at it any different than any other game. But deep down you know that they’re winning a tough East and we’re winning a tough Central, and this is a series where we feel like we can really make a statement,” White Sox pitcher John Danks said.
“This team doesn’t lose very much here at home, and we feel like if we can come in here and hopefully sweep this series, we’ll be sitting pretty headed into June.”
Danks (4-4) allowed one run and six hits in six innings to beat Edwin Jackson (3-4) for the second time this season. He pitched seven scoreless innings to beat the right-hander 6-0 on April 20, a loss that left Tampa Bay in last place at 8-11.
The Rays have gone 24-11 since then and entered Thursday tied with the Chicago Cubs for the best record in the major leagues. They’ve won nine of their last 11 series, including six straight at home since the White Sox won two of three games from them here six weeks ago.
“I feel proud of them,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who played 63 games for the Rays in 2000, when Tampa Bay lost 92 games.
“They’re doing a tremendous job. They have unbelievable talent, they know what they’re doing. They’re going in the right direction.”
Joe Crede and Paul Konerko homered and Carlos Quentin, Jim Thome and Orlando Cabrera also drove in runs for the White Sox, who are making noise themselves with 12 wins in their last 15 games. Danks walked one and struck out eight to improve to 3-0 lifetime against the Rays.
“He pitched well,” Guillen said. “He got himself in trouble a couple of times … but he came out of it.”
Crede hit his ninth home run, a solo shot off Jackson, in the sixth inning. Konerko hit his first homer since April 27—a towering drive that bounced off one of the catwalks that support the roof in the domed stadium—leading off the eighth against Jason Hammel.
Ten of Chicago’s 11 hits were off Jackson, including RBI doubles by Thome and Cabrera. Quentin’s run-scoring single gave him 27 RBIs in May, 48 overall.
“It was a battle all day,” Jackson said. “They’re a good hitting team.”
Carl Crawford had an RBI single in the third for Tampa Bay, which earlier in the day learned it will be without closer Troy Percival for at least two weeks. The 38-year-old was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain.
The Rays had plenty of other chances, but were 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position against Danks and relievers Matt Thornton and Octavio Dotel.
“We had opportunities to keep that game where we wanted. We just couldn’t get the run,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “Danks has pitched well against us both times we’ve seen him. He’s pitching with a lot of confidence.”
Boone Logan finished up with a scoreless ninth for Chicago, extending a stretch in which the White Sox bullpen has not allowed an earned run to 27 innings over its last nine games.
Xtra, xtra: Rays OF Rocco Baldelli (mitochondrial disorder), who has only played in 127 games over the past four seasons because of an assortment of injuries, went 1-for-5 as the designated hitter in an extended spring training game—his first game action since going on the 60-day DL on March 28. The Rays activated INF Willy Aybar (left hamstring) from the DL. He went 1-for-4 as the designated hitter and scored Tampa Bay’s only run. After the game, the Rays optioned INF Ben Zobrist to Triple-A Durham and purchased the contract of RHP Grant Balfour from the minor league affiliate (Associated Press - Sports).
The Tampa Bay Rays are a hit on the field, if not in the seats.
The surprise AL East leaders won another game Wednesday, with Matt Garza striking out 10 in a career-high eight innings to beat the Texas Rangers 5-3, however sagging attendance continues to be a concern.
Despite being off to the best start in franchise history and beginning the day tied with the Chicago Cubs for the best record in the major leagues, the Rays drew an announced crowd of 10,927.
The first two games of the series drew 12,174 and 10,511, and Tampa Bay is last in the AL with an average of 17,938, third-lowest in the majors.
“I’ve always felt if we’ve built (the team) properly, they will come, and I think we’re doing that very well right now,” manager Joe Maddon said. “Every place I’ve been, whenever there’s been attendance problems, once we get the wins, people will start showing.”
Garza (4-1) allowed two runs and four hits for the AL East leaders, who won two of three from the Rangers to hand Texas its first series loss in over a month. The Rays have won nine of their last 11 series, including six straight at home.
B.J. Upton and Akinori Iwamura delivered RBI singles off Kason Gabbard (1-2), Evan Longoria had a sacrifice fly and Carlos Pena and pinch-hitter Cliff Floyd drew walks with the bases loaded for Tampa Bay, which has won 15 of 20 games.
“The fans are missing some really good baseball,” Maddon said. “Again, having fans in this place will make a difference. Turning this place into `The Pit’ will make a difference. The more they show up, I think the better we’ll play.”
Texas, which led 2-1 after Milton Bradley’s two-run single in the fourth, was 8-0-1 in its previous nine series—the longest string for the Rangers since they were 7-0-3 from March 31-April 30, 1998.
Garza walked two and didn’t allow a hit after the fifth inning. He retiring his last nine batters after walking Josh Hamilton to begin the sixth.
Rays closer Troy Percival got the first two outs of the ninth before leaving with tightness in his left hamstring. Dan Wheeler gave up a RBI single to Frank Catalanotto but finished the combined six-hitter for his first save of the season.
Percival was scheduled undergo an MRI exam and will be re-evaluated on Thursday.
“We don’t know how serious it is,” Maddon said.
Michael Young doubled in the fourth to extend his hitting streak to 14 games for Texas. One inning later, Ian Kinsler’s potential double-play grounder ricocheted off the right shin of second base umpire Chris Guccione for an infield hit that gave him a 13-game streak.
Garza set the tone for the Rays by retiring nine in a row to start the game. He began the fourth by walking Kinsler, then gave up Young’s double that bounced over the wall in left center and Bradley’s two-run single.
“I thought we had him going there for a minute,” Texas manager Ron Washington said. “But he hung in there, and when you looked up, he was in the eighth inning. That’s what good pitchers do.”
The Rays scored an unearned run in the first on Upton’s RBI single and took the lead for good in the fifth when they sent 10 batters to the plate and scored four times, twice on walks with the bases loaded.
Gabbard allowed five runs, five hits and six walks in 4 1-3 innings, including the walk to Pena that snapped a 2-2 tie. Frank Francisco replaced the Texas starter and yielded Longoria’s sacrifice fly and the walk to Floyd that made 5-2.
Rangers pitchers walked nine and yielded seven hits.
“Too many walks,” Washington said. “You know that old saying about walks haunt. They certainly haunted us today.”
Xtra, xtra: Tampa Bay OF Rocco Baldelli (mitochondrial disorder), who is eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list on Thursday, may be close to getting some at-bats in extended spring training games (Associated Press - Sports).
With one big swing, Josh Hamilton put his old team away.
The one-time Tampa Bay prospect hit a grand slam and matched his career high with five RBIs, helping Vicente Padilla and the Texas Rangers cool off the AL East-leading Rays 12-6 on Tuesday night.
Hamilton, the former No. 1 overall pick in the draft whose career with the Rays was derailed by drug addiction and injuries, had an RBI double off Andy Sonnanstine (6-3) in the first. The Rangers avoided a possible late-inning collapse when he added his second grand slam of the season in the eighth off J.P. Howell.
“It felt good … especially in that situation,” Hamilton said. “This is where I started, and it’s my first home run here.”
The five RBIs matched a career best set May 16 against Houston and boosted Hamilton’s season total to a major league-leading 58. He’s also batting .329 with 13 homers after hitting 19 with Cincinnati in 2007, his first season in the bigs.
The 27-year-old outfielder, 0-for-4 Monday in his first game against his old team, is 4-for-6 and has driven in 14 runs with the bases loaded this year.
To hear him, though, his first-pitch homer off a sinker was pure luck.
“I’ve never been more frustrated after hitting a grand slam in my life,” Hamilton said. “I was having so much trouble picking the ball up. When I made contact, I actually closed my eyes for a spilt-second because I thought (the ball) was going to run on me, that it was going to hit me.”
Padilla (7-2) allowed five runs and seven hits in six innings to win his fifth straight decision and stop Tampa Bay’s four-game winning streak. The right-hander walked four and struck out a season-high 10.
Brandon Boggs had an RBI single in the first and a two-run double in the second, when the Rangers scored five unearned runs off Sonnanstine to build a 7-0 lead that Padilla was barely able to protect.
Cliff Floyd and Eric Hinske hit two-run homers for Tampa Bay, which cut its deficit to 7-5 when Padilla got Hinske to ground into a double play in the sixth. Hamilton broke the game open after Ian Kinsler’s RBI single put Texas up 8-5 in the eighth.
“In the seventh inning, I had a good feeling,” Rays third baseman Evan Longoria said. “We hung around long enough. We were going to give ourselves a chance to win the game. Unfortunately, Hamilton comes up with a big hit like he’s been doing and kind of put us away.”
Tampa Bay began the night with the best record in the majors, leading Boston by a half-game in the AL East.
The loss was the second straight for Sonnanstine, who had won five straight decisions before struggling in an outing last week at Oakland. The Rangers were 6-for-12 with runners in scoring position in the first two innings.
The Rays had gone eight games without an error, two shy of the franchise record, before Longoria mishandled Hamilton’s grounder, allowing the first of five runs the Rangers scored with two outs in the second.
Milton Bradley and David Murphy followed with RBI singles off Sonnanstine before Boggs added his two-run double to make it 7-0.
Floyd cut into Tampa Bay’s deficit with his first homer since April 4 in the second. The Rays threatened again in the third, but stranded runners at first and second when Padilla struck out Carlos Pena after falling behind 3-0 in the count.
Sonnanstine settled after the shaky beginning to help the Rays get back into the game. The right-hander allowed two hits over his last three innings, and Tampa Bay trimmed Padilla’s lead to 7-4 in the fourth on Hinske’s 10th homer.
“I thought we had a pretty good chance when it was 7-5,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “The fight was there … the intensity was there. In the end, they got us.”
Xtra, xtra: A moment of silence was observed before the game for former Rays pitcher Geremi Gonzalez, who was struck by lightning Sunday near his home in Venezuela. He was 6-16 with a 4.66 ERA for Tampa Bay in 2003 and 2004 (Associated Press - Sports).
The Tampa Bay Rays have turned the standings upside down.
Scott Kazmir won his fourth straight start, striking out 10 in seven innings to lead the AL East-leading Rays over the Texas Rangers 7-3 Monday night.
Eric Hinske hit a three-run homer for the Rays, who have won 16 of their last 17 home games and at 31-20 have the best record in the major leagues. Tampa Bay is just the second team—joining the 1903 New York Giants—to have the best mark on Memorial Day after finishing with the worst record in the big leagues the previous season (66-96).
“That’s something that I’ve always dreamed about,” said Rays left fielder Carl Crawford, who joined the team in 2002. “We want to keep playing good and be consistent. We know that a lot of people think we’ll probably fade at the end. We just want to try to show people it’s no fluke. We want to try and keep it going.”
While Tampa Bay is 11 games over .500 for the first time, the Rays drew an announced crowd of just 12,174 for the holiday game. Tampa Bay has never won more than 70 games in a season during its first 10 years of play.
“Everything is going our way now,” Rays catcher Dioner Navarro said. “We want to keep doing it for the whole season.”
Kazmir (4-1) retired his first 10 batters, seven on strikeouts, before Michael Young singled to center with one out in the fourth. Kazmir allowed one run and three hits, striking out the side in the first and third innings. He has given up two runs over 26 innings during his winning streak.
“I guess you could say there was too much Scott Kazmir,” Texas manager Ron Washington said. “He kept us off balance with his fastball and his changeup in the zone. He worked fast and hit the strike zone.”
Kazmir missed the first month of the season with a strained left elbow. It was his first 10-strikeout game this year, and 15th overall.
“My slider finally came back,” Kazmir said. “I felt like I was trusting it a little more. Everything felt good.”
Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton, taken by the Rays with the first overall pick in the 1999 amateur draft, went 0-for-4 in his first game at Tropicana Field. Hamilton is in his second major league season after overcoming injuries and addictions to cocaine and alcohol that kept him off the field from 2003-05.
When he was introduced, Hamilton received a standing ovation and a few boos.
“It felt good,” Hamilton said. “As far as the choices I made, they weren’t great, but I always took time with the fans when I was with the Devil Rays, so I’m glad to get the support.”
Sidney Ponson (3-1) gave up five runs and 12 hits in five innings for Texas, which is 19-11 since April 25. Ian Kinsler had three RBIs, including a two-run homer.
Run-scoring singles by Carlos Pena in the first and B.J. Upton in the fourth put the Rays ahead 2-0, and Hinske homered in the fifth.
“The worst pitch I did was the three-run homer,” Ponson said. “That put the team in a big hole early and we didn’t get out of it.”
Tampa Bay had at least two hits in each of the first six innings, and went 6-for-14 with runners in the scoring position during the stretch. Navarro hit an RBI double in the sixth, and Upton had a sacrifice fly one inning later.
Kinsler had a sixth-inning sacrifice fly and added a two-run shot in the ninth against Gary Glover.
Xtra, xtra: Pena had a ground-rule double in the third when his fly ball landed and stayed on an overhanging catwalk (Associated Press - Sports).
Evan Longoria came up big again.
The rookie third baseman drove in the winning run with a double in the ninth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays completed a three-game sweep with a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.
“He’s going to keep getting better,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “He’s building his confidence right now. He’s playing with a lot more confidence, especially offensively.”
Carlos Pena drew a one-out walk in the ninth off George Sherrill (1-1) and scored on Longoria’s double to center. Longoria also caused Baltimore problems on Saturday, hitting two homers and driving in six runs in Tampa Bay’s 11-4 victory.
“I love being in that situation,” Longoria said. “I’m looking forward to getting up there and at least getting a chance to win the game.”
The Orioles have lost five of six, and fell into last place in the AL East at 24-25.
Troy Percival (1-0) got the final two outs in the ninth for the win. The Rays are just the fifth team—joining the 2001 Philadelphia Phillies, 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks, ‘92 Orioles and ‘88 Cleveland Indians—to be 10 games or more above .500 to start play on Memorial Day after losing at least 95 games the previous season.
Pena hit a two-run shot during a four-run third as Tampa Bay took a 4-1 lead. Like Longoria, Pena has been a problem for the Orioles: In 11 games against Baltimore, he has five homers and 18 RBIs, and in 38 games against all other opponents he’s hit just five homers and had 11 RBIs.
“We pick each other up,” Pena said. “We’re playing together. We’re playing as a team. It’s a great chemistry, so when you win, it’s so much fun. It’s a blast coming to the ballpark every single day.”
Eric Hinske added a run-scoring single and Dioner Navarro drove in a run with a double in the third for the Rays, who have won 15 of 16 at home. Tampa Bay is 22-9 since April 22, and are 10 games over .500 (30-20) for the first time in franchise history.
“You’ve got to give the Rays a lot of credit,” Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. “They found a way to win.”
Rays starter James Shields allowed four runs and eight hits over eight innings. He struck out three and walked one.
“This team fights to the end,” he said. “I’m just trying to keep them in the game.”
Baltimore right-hander Daniel Cabrera gave up four runs, nine hits, six walks and had one strikeout in 5 2-3 innings.
“My control was not there today,” he said. “When you are behind that is what you get, they will hit the ball.”
Adam Jones drove in a run in the fifth with a double that cut the Orioles’ deficit to 4-2. Melvin Mora, who was 0-for-16 on the current trip, had an RBI single and Aubrey Huff hit a solo homer that tied it at 4 one inning later.
Huff, who started his major league career with the Rays, has three homers and seven RBIs this season against his old team.
Ramon Hernandez put the Orioles ahead 1-0 on a single in the second.
“Our outlook is, sooner or later, this thing is going to turn in our favor,” Trembley said.
The Rays loaded the bases with one out in the first, but failed to score when Longoria flew out to right and Hinske’s drive to left was caught on the warning track by Jay Payton.
Xtra, xtra: Pena is 6-for-16 with three homers and seven RBIs against Cabrera (Associated Press - Sports).
Evan Longoria is off to a strong start in his rookie season.
Longoria homered twice and had six RBIs to lead the Tampa Bay Rays past the Baltimore Orioles 11-4 on Saturday night.
It was Longoria’s first career multihomer game. The third baseman hit a three-run shot during a four-run first, and had a two-run drive in a five-run second. He also hit a fourth-inning sacrifice fly.
“This is just flashes of what he’s capable of doing,” Rays first baseman Carlos Pena said.
Longoria leads the Rays in home runs with seven since his making his major-league debut on April 12.
“I’ve been feeling good in the (batters) box whether or not I’ve been getting results,” said Longoria, who is hitting .241 with 26 RBIs in 39 games.
Pena added three RBIs for the Rays, who are 21-9 since April 22, and improved to a franchise best nine games over .500 at 29-20. Tampa Bay has won 14 of its last 15 games at home.
Edwin Jackson (3-3) allowed three runs and four hits in five innings. The right-hander struggled with his control, walking five, including four of his first six batters, and striking out two.
“It’s one of those days when you feel bad, and you look bad,” Jackson said. “Get that offensive support, it’s definitely a good feeling.”
Jackson had given up one run over 20 1-3 innings in his previous three starts, but got a no decision in each outing when the Rays’ bullpen lost the lead. Tampa Bay eventally won two of those three games.
Orioles manager Dave Trembley held a team meeting and revamped his lineup, giving second baseman Brian Roberts, right fielder Nick Markakis and catcher Ramon Hernandez a “mental day” off. The Orioles scored just one run in their previous three games. Freddie Bynum replaced Roberts as the leadoff hitter, Jay Peyton started in right and Guillermo Quiroz was the catcher.
Baltimore loaded the bases—on three walks—with one out in the first, but failed to score whne Luke Scott hit into a double play. The Orioles have lost four of five.
“We need to start scoring some runs,” Trembley said. “Our pitching, up to today, has been very good. It would be nice to end this tomorrow and build from there.”
Pena had an RBI double and Longoria hit a three-run homer off Steve Trachsel (2-5) to put the Rays ahead 4-0 in the first.
Quiroz got the Orioles within 4-1 on a second-inning RBI single. The Rays responded with five runs in the bottom of the second, coming on B.J. Upton’s two-run double, Pena’s run-scoring triple and a two-run homer by Longoria that chased Traschel.
“I’d say he was more than impressive,” Trembley said of Longoria. “He looked like he knew what was coming at every at-bat.”
Trachsel pitching for the first time since May 9, gave up nine runs and seven hits in 1 2-3 innings. He is 0-4 in six career starts against Tampa Bay.
“I might be tipping my pitches,” Trachsel said. “That’s the only thing I can come up with. If that’s not it, then we’ve got some serious things to figure out.”
Trachsel’s spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy.
“I definitely think that’s something we need to consider,” Trembley said.
Scott hit a two-run homer in the third to pull Baltimore within 9-3. It ended a 31-inning home run drought by the Orioles.
Pena had a run-scoring single and Longoria hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth that extended the Rays advantage to 11-3.
Payton drove in a run with a double in the eighth.
Xtra, xtra: Tampa Bay is 25-14 since Longoria joined the team from Triple-A Durham. Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Rays DH Cliff Floyd snapped an 0-for-16 slide with a broken-bat single to center in the fourth (Associated Press - Sports).
Jered Weaver cooled off the hottest team in baseball.
